Talking points that need to be addressed by UNC

PETER BERNARD

I HAVE looked with amazement at the blind, uninformed and slavish support for the UNC's political leader in response to Rushton Paray's simple call for internal party elections. Every member that has pledged their support for the leader and the state of the party over the past 14 years should be able to support their statements by answering the following questions.

(i) Since the UNC has been under the leadership of Kamla Persad-Bissessar, by what number has its membership increased? Can any member of the executive provide the numbers to certify the increase in membership from 2010 to 2024? If these figures can't be supplied, can anyone say why, and can the chairman of the party, Davendranath Tancoo, state what are the mechanisms in place to measure and encourage new membership?

(ii) Can Daniel Rasheed of the youth arm support his statement by providing the increase in membership under the leadership of Persad-Bissessar?

(iii) Can the chairman of the women's arm indicate, with reference to figures, the increase in membership under the leadership of Persad-Bissessar?

(iv) Can Tancoo provide the number of party groups that have been formed, since 2010 to the present, in each constituency held by the UNC and others that they seek to capture in the next election?

(v) Can the chairman tell the population the KPIs (key performance indicators) that are used by the executive of which he chairs to measure the performance of each MP that presently holds a seat in Parliament and the means used to measure the performance of senators?

(vi) Being a national party, what steps has the UNC taken, under the esteemed leadership of Persad-Bissessar, to secure the interests of the people of Tobago?

(vii) Since 2015, what steps has the party taken and what machinery is in place to assess the results of the party after each general and local election?

(viii) Since Persad-Bissessar took leadership of the party in 2010, has there been any attempt to amend its constitution to ensure that its provisions accord with the views of the membership and to make provision for the needs of the membership?

(viiii) What steps has the party taken to participate and make representation on the amendment of the national constitution and to place before the national community the views of the party if elected into office?

Any organisation that aims at progress must have KPIs. That is how any organisation that wishes to succeed charts its future. It is clear to me that since 2010 the UNC has not grown. It may have gone in the opposite direction, but this is what keeps its leaders in power. If these questions can't be answered, then how are we able to say the present leader has performed?

Can the 19 MPs that have been elected since 2020 say how the membership of the party has increased in their constituency since being elected and if not, why. The answer is simple: there are no structures in place to measure progress because if there were there would be no fight now as those there would all be exposed.

So to all who are putting out releases, let them continue propping up the unstructured, unmeasured, loyalty-based leadership of Persad-Bissessar.

A party that sees itself as the alternative government has to perform in opposition in a manner that tells the population that it is better than the government.

One of the most striking examples of this type of conduct was Dr Rowley, while leader of the opposition, meeting with the Germans who had the largest investment in the energy sector with a view to planning ahead if elected prime minister. What are the steps that the present Leader of the Opposition has taken to show that she and those around her are electable and ready to be elected into government.

I suggest that these are the talking points that need to be addressed and which, more importantly, will expose those who seek to rely on non-performance and loyalty to the leader as their way to progress.